Legal Definitions - impleader

Impleader is a legal procedure that allows a defendant in a lawsuit to bring a new party into the case. This new party, often called a "third-party defendant," is brought in because the original defendant believes they are responsible for some or all of the claims made by the plaintiff against the original defendant.

The primary goal of impleader is to ensure that all parties who might be liable for the same issue are part of a single lawsuit. This prevents the need for separate legal actions and allows the court to efficiently determine who is ultimately responsible for the damages or claims. Essentially, the original defendant is saying, "If I am liable to the plaintiff, then this third party is liable to me for that same claim."

Here are some examples to illustrate how impleader works:

• Construction Defect: A homeowner sues a general contractor for significant water damage caused by a leaky roof. The general contractor, while acknowledging the leak, believes the problem stems from faulty work performed by a specific roofing subcontractor they hired. To avoid having to pay the homeowner and then separately sue the subcontractor, the general contractor uses impleader to bring the roofing subcontractor into the existing lawsuit. This allows the court to determine, in one proceeding, if the general contractor is liable to the homeowner and, if so, whether the subcontractor is liable to the general contractor for the faulty work.
• Software Malfunction: A business client sues a software development firm, claiming that custom software developed by the firm contained a critical bug that caused substantial financial losses. The software development firm investigates and determines that the bug originated in a specific third-party component (like a database system or an API) that they integrated into the custom software, which was supplied by another vendor. The software development firm can use impleader to bring the third-party component vendor into the lawsuit. This way, if the firm is found liable to the business client, they can seek to hold the component vendor responsible for the damages caused by the defective part.
• Product Liability Chain: A consumer suffers an injury due to a defect in a product purchased from a retail store and sues the store for damages. The retail store, while potentially liable to the consumer for selling a defective product, believes the actual defect originated during the manufacturing process. The retail store can use impleader to bring the product manufacturer into the lawsuit. This allows the court to consider the manufacturer's responsibility directly, and if the retail store is found liable to the consumer, the manufacturer could be ordered to reimburse the store.